Lab No.1 Asian Bistro — Restaurant in Centreville

Just a first impression, only ate there once. This used to be a Charlie Chiang's, and still has some of the nice interior design features of that place.

The food seems to be basically Korean Japanese, with some Vietnamese and Thai options too. Plenty of fully Korean dishes also. As you'd expect, there's plenty of sushi and a few types of pho and ramen.

I had gyoza and bun cha.

The gyoza was okay, but wasn't in the Japanese style that I prefer. Instead of soft skin with maybe one pan-fried side, the whole thing is deep-fried and crispy like thai dumplings. The shell has a much stronger flavor than the interior. The sauce is pretty sweet. Japanese style gyoza uses just soy sauce and vinegar, with a little enhancement from stuff like onions or ginger. It's a more subtle flavor.

The bun cha was pretty good, but like a lot of Viet and Korean dishes, you've got to assemble it yourself, and I'm embarrassed to say I don't know the procedure. There's a big bowl of noodles soaking in sweet clear sauce (not to be confused for soup, lol), a cup of lettuce leaves, some pickled veggies, and the meat itself.

In the past I've had kalbi served on a lettuce leaf, with rice as foundation, so I tried layering a few noodles into the lettuce and then loading it up with meat to make a sort of open taco. It's pretty good that way. The vermicelli absorb the sweet sauce and go together well with the beef and lettuce.

The meat itself is extra delicious and to be honest, I'd be fine with just the meat and skip all the extras. My only small complaint is the dipping sauce was very cold, as were the noodles, so trying to mix the noodles with bites of meat quickly cooled down the beef. It's also a bit messy. I'm glad the sauce has most of its fishy flavor diluted because it seems easy to slop it around as you try to get a grip on the noodles.

Service was quick and friendly, no problems at all. And I like the decor. Glass partitions, big wine rack, recessed lighting, a couple of outdoor tables. Plenty of space.

This is not a complaint, just FYI: like most korean places in this area, the music and TV are K-pop, 24/7. I don't mind, the volume wasn't too high, but this type of atmosphere (combined with the goofy chemistry theme) means this place is more fun than fancy. Though after paying $30 with no drinks, it's priced a little fancy.

I will...

My friend and I decided to try this spot since our usual late-night sushi joint was closed. The seating was fast, and initially, the service was fast and attentive. But that's about where the good stuff ended, for me.

The Food: Grocery store quality at sushi bar prices. In the case of the kimchi and miso soup; literally store bought. The sushi honestly reminded me of something I'd pick up from a grocery store deli. The razor clam wasn't cleaned very well either, because I took a bite and crunched right into some grit (either sand or shell). The bulgogi was also overpriced, but it also happened to be the best dish that we had. Needless to say, we weren't impressed.

The Environment: Modern and hip. Clearly tailored for the younger college kid crowd.

The Service: As I stated earlier, the service was fast and attentive at first, but after we ordered, that's basically where it stopped. The young servers got busy hugging customers and sitting down to socialize with them, or got too busy scrolling on their phone at the bar to notice us. We weren't checked on, and the only time we got service was when our food was delivered, or when we stopped them to ask for water and the bill. I understand it was late at night, and I have no issues with them catching up on their phones or with other customers. It just would have been nice to receive a little attention here and there.

The only reason I tipped at all was because it was late at night, and I saw the solo sushi chef doing his best. It was a very pricey $85 bill for a $50 or $60 dollar experience. I also have a sneaking suspicion that I'll need to watch for food poisoning tonight. Overall, it was a pretty disappointing experience, and unfortunately, I don't think we'll...

man, I went in expecting this restaurant to be over hyped, but I was so happy to find out how wrong I was. this place is surprisingly good - even my friend was surprised.

we ordered the: takoyaki sushi combo for two tornado omurice vegetable curry cream pasta

the takoyaki wasn't bad, but the best part was the presentation. I liked the bowl they used to serve it in (v. cute). We received our omurice and cream pasta around the same time. omurice was surprisingly good....tasted like ketchup to me though. Definitely high in umami from the tomatoes. now my favorite dish of the night has to go to the cream pasta. it was good! creamy, well cooked pasta - delish!

the vegetable curry & sushi combo came out next. vegetable curry almost tastes like what you would get at the supermarket (instant curry). it was a mild curry that went well with everything else. the sushi combo for two was interesting. I wasn't a huge fan of the specialty roll that came with it, but the other pieces were good.

I'd go back for the cream pasta in a heartbeat though. the interior is every hipster's dream. they have seating outside if you prefer (which is what we opted to do). another thing I was surprised by, how busy they were for a...